ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Steel
From Second Largest Producer of Steel, India Needs to Emerge as Responsible Producer of Steel, says Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia
Urges to Strike Balance between Steel Industry’s Capacity Enhancement Targets & Green Steel Adoption
Aims to Enhance Steel Production to 300 Million Ton by 2030
The Union Minister of Steel and Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Tuesday urged the Indian steel industry to move towards green and low carbon emitting production processes. Speaking at the launch of Kalyani Group's first green steel brand 'Kalyani FeRRESTA' in New Delhi, the hon’ble minister emphasized on the growing role of steel as the foundational force for the development of a nation.
Minister Scindia added that as the fifth largest economy and second largest producer of steel, India needs to also become a responsible and sustainable producer of steel. Talking about the enhanced consumption and production capacities of the nation, the minister said that “We have ambitious expansion plans of doubling our production capacity by 2030 from the current level of 154 MT to 300 MT, as also envisaged in National Steel Policy 2017”. He said that therefore there is a need to strike a balance between Steel Industry’s ambitious capacity enhancement targets and work towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of achieving net zero target by 2070.
He also shared that through strategic policy interventions, the government has resolved to bring down carbon emissions by 2030 and strengthen the country's commitment towards producing green steel. He said that the government and other stakeholders need to work together to decarbonise the industry by ensuring increased use of renewable energy, efficient raw materials like scrap and pellets, best available technologies and green hydrogen. He added that together the industry needs to move from fossil fuel intensive BF-BOF  route and Coal-based DRI-EAF/IF  to gas-based DRI-EAF to ensure a successful transition to green steel.
The Minister also talked about mandating steel producers of the nation to dedicate a percentage of their production to making green steel and ensuring greater usage and promotion of the same in government projects.
Talking about the initiative by the Kalyani Group, the Hon’ble minister said that, “Initiatives like the one taken by the Kalyani Group will help transform the steel sector’s long-standing identity as a carbon emitting “hard to abate sector”, to a reduced carbon emitting-green steel -producing industry.”
The occasion was graced by the presence of Additional Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Ms. Ruchika Chaudhry Govil and other senior dignitaries of the Ministry and the fraternity.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurates two National Highway projects in Vadodara, Gujarat worth Rs.48 crore
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated two National Highway projects in Vadodara, Gujarat today at a cost of Rs.48 crore the, Bhumi Pujan of these projects was done a year and a half ago on the birthday of Hon’ble Prime Minister.
Shri Gadkari said improvement work has been done near Dumad Chowkdi of Ahmedabad-Vadodara section of National Highway 48. He said this project of about 3 km length has been inaugurated at a cost of Rs 27.01 crore. The Minister said in this, new service roads, vehicular underpasses and RCC crash barriers have been built, which will solve the problem of traffic jam and make the journey more safe.
Shri Gadkari said the length of the second project costing Rs 17 crore to be dedicated to the nation is about 1 km. He said in this project, underpass and service road have been constructed near National Highway 48 Dena Junction of Vadodara. The Minister said under this project, solar powered street lights have been used for the first time on National Highway 48. Polymer Modified Bitumen has been used in the underpass and service road surface which will give it greater strength and better resistance to cracks, he added.
Shri Gadkari informed that for the first time in this construction, a 3-lane service road has been constructed. He said the projects will provide better connectivity to Dena, Harini, Virod villages, making this accident prone area safer for traffic and movement from industrial areas will be more accessible.
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Growth of Food Processing Industry
As per latest Annual Survey of Industries 2018-19, the total output in food processing sector has been increased from Rs. 9,34,272.19 crore in 2014-15 to Rs.12,76,995.11 crore in 2018-19 at the Compound Annual Growth Rate of 8.13%. The number of persons engaged in the registered food processing sector increases from 17.73 lakh in 2014-15 to 20.05 lakh in 2018-19.As per the National Sample Survey , a total of 51.11 lakh persons are engaged in the unincorporated/unregistered food processing sector.
The efforts being made for promoting exports of processed food products are:
 A comprehensive “Agriculture Export Policy” has been introduced to harness export potential of Indian agriculture.
 Products Specific Export Promotion Forums set up by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority  to give impetus to the export of potential products as well as to remove the bottlenecks in the supply chain.
 APEDA has also formed Export Promotion Forums  for the products, viz., Grapes, Onions, Mango, Banana, Pomegranate, Floriculture, Rice,Dairy Products and Nutri cereals.
 A Farmer Connect Portal has been set up for providing a platform for farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations  and cooperatives to interact with exporters.
 Assistance provided through several other schemes to promote exports, including food export, viz. Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme , Market Access Initiatives  Scheme, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products , Export Promotion schemes of APEDA &Marine Products Export Development Authority  etc.
 Under the Production Linked Incentives  scheme for food products, marketing and branding support is provided by MoFPI for enhancing global visibility of Indian food products.
Further, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme-PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises  from the year 2020-21 for providing financial, technical and business support for upgradation / setting up of 2 lakh micro food processing enterprises based on One District One Product  approach. The scheme is being implemented for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores.
MoFPI is implementing Central Sector Scheme–Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana  since 2016. PMKSY provides a big boost to the growth of food processing sector in the country helping thereby the farmers in getting better prices for their produces due to higher demand for agricultural produce by the food processing industries as raw material. It is thus a big step towards increasing the farmers’ income in addition to creating employment opportunities especially in the rural areas, reducing wastage of agricultural produce and enhancing the export of the processed foods.
This information was given by Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today
Special Service and Features
Resource Efficiency Circular Economy Industry Coalition to be launched by Hon’ Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav
The Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Industry Coalition  is set to be launched at the side event during the 4th Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group and Environment and Climate Ministers meeting in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Conceptualized under India's G20 Presidency, RECEIC is an industry-driven initiative aimed at promoting resource efficiency and circular economy practices globally. The coalition is envisioned to be a self-sustaining entity that will continue to operate beyond India's G20 Presidency, making a lasting impact on environmental sustainability.
39 companies headquartered in 11 different countries have joined the coalition as its founding members. As a collaborative platform, RECEIC aims to facilitate knowledge-sharing, best practice sharing, and sustainable practices among the participating industries. The coalition has three guiding principles – Partnerships for impact, Technology Cooperation and Finance for scale.
The RECEIC will be launched by the Hon’ Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav in the presence of the Commissioner on Environment from the European Union and Honorable Ministers from Canada, France, Italy, Denmark, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
163.84 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
India's Active caseload currently stands at 22,02,472
Active cases stand at 5.46%
Recovery Rate currently at 93.33%
3,06,357 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 3,76,77,328
2,86,384 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
Daily positivity rate 
Weekly Positivity Rate 
72.21 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 14,62,261 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
NCAP targets to achieve reductions up to 40% of PM 10 concentrations by 2025-26
MoEFCC provides financial assistance to States/ UTs under National Ambient Air Quality Programme  for monitoring of ambient air quality in towns and cities. Presently 1340 Monitoring Stations have been set up for monitoring ambient air quality in 489 cities and towns of the country. Details of Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations in 489 cities/towns, are provided at Annexure I.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change  launched National Clean Air Programme  in January, 2019 with an aim to improve air quality in 131 cities  concentrations by 2025-26. Under the Programme, Cities are required to take measures to improve air quality inter-alia include solid waste management, control of pollution from biomass burning and air pollution from construction & demolition activities.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the scheme ‘Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0’ which aims at setting up of setting up of solid waste management processing facilities, remediation of all legacy waste dumpsites in all cities, C&D waste management and procurement of mechanical road sweepers in 152 cities/towns which includes 131 cities covered under NCAP.
MoEFCC has notified Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 which provide statutory framework for the management of solid waste in the country. Rules mandate the local authorities and village panchayats of census towns and urban agglomerations, to allow only the non-usable, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, non-combustible and non-reactive inert waste and pre-processing rejects and residues from waste processing facilities to go to sanitary landfill sites.
To address the issue of plastic pollution with effective measures, MoEFCC notified the Plastic Waste Management  Rules, 2016. MoEFCC issued notification in August, 2021 for phasing out of 12 Single-Use Plastics  items w.e.f. 1st July, 2022. Plastic packaging waste, which is not covered under the phase out of identified single use plastic items, is to be collected and managed in an environmentally sustainable way through Guidelines for Extended Producer Responsibility notified by MoEFCC on 16th February 2022.
This information was given by Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
Vice President's Secretariat
Vice President greets people on the eve of Ram Navami
The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu has greeted the people of the nation on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Following is the full text of the message -
I convey my warm greetings and good wishes to the people of our country on the auspicious occasion of ‘Ram Navami’.
Lord Rama was the personification of virtue, righteousness, courage and compassion. Ram Navami celebrations remind us of the ideal life led by Maryada Purushottam Lord Rama and guide us towards the path of righteousness that he showed us. It must remind each of us of our duties and responsibilities towards our family, society and country.
Lord Rama’s resolute commitment to justice, good governance and welfare of his people will continue to inspire humanity forever.
In our country, festivals are a great occasion for family and friends to come together and celebrate. But given the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, I urge my fellow citizens to celebrate this festival at home and by adhering to COVID health and hygiene protocols.
May this festival bring happiness and peace to our lives, motivate us to walk the path Lord Rama illuminated and create a world permeated by the ideals he lived.
Following is the Hindi text of the message -
'राम नवमी' के शुभ अवसर पर मैं सभी देशवासियों को हार्दिक बधाई और शुभकामनाएं देता हूँ I
भगवान राम सद्गुण, अच्छाई, साहस और करूणा की प्रतिमूर्ति थे। राम नवमी का पर्व हमें मर्यादा पुरूषोत्तम भगवान राम के आदर्श जीवन का स्मरण कराता है तथा उनके द्वारा दिखाए गए अच्छाई के रास्ते पर चलने के लिए प्रेरित करता है। यह पर्व हम सभी को अपने परिवार, समाज और देश के प्रति हमारे कर्तव्यों और जिम्मेदारियों का स्मरण कराता है ।
भगवान राम की न्याय, सुशासन और अपनी प्रजा की भलाई के प्रति दृढ़ प्रतिबद्धता मानवता को सदैव प्रेरित करती रहेगी ।
हमारे देश में, त्यौहार परिवारों और मित्रों के साथ मिल-जुलकर खुशियां मनाने का महान अवसर होते हैं परंतु कोविड-19 वैश्विक महामारी की वर्तमान स्थिति के दृष्टिगत मैं देशवासियों से इस त्यौहार को घर पर रहकर मनाने तथा कोविड संबंधी स्वास्थ्य एवं स्वच्छता नयाचार का पालन करने का आग्रह करता हूं।
(मैं यह कामना करता हूं कि यह त्यौहार हमारे जीवन में खुशहाली और शांति लाए, हमें भगवान राम द्वारा दिखाए गए मार्ग पर चलने के लिए प्रेरित करे तथा उनके द्वारा स्थापित आदर्शों से युक्त विश्व का निर्माण करे।
Ministry of Tourism
Tourism Ministry has Sanctioned Projects of Rs. 80.37 Crores for Development of Rural Circuit In Kerala : Shri K. J. Alphons
Minister of State for Tourism  Shri K.J. Alphons today announced that the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned the project “Development of Rural Circuit: Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project’ in Kerala under Swadesh Darshan Scheme for Rs. 80.37 Crores. The project focuses on development of water based thematic cruise experiences in and around Valapattanam and Kuppam Rivers of Kannur District. The three thematic cruises developed under the project are as follows:
a) Malabari Cuisine and Culinary Cruise in Valapattanam River  - Cruise starts from Valapattanam to Munambu Kadavu in Valapattanam River with an effective Cruise Length of 40 km.
b) yyam Cruise in Valapattanam River - Cruise starts from Valapattanam to Pazhayangadi in Valapattanam River with an effective length of 16 km.
c) Mangrove Cruise in Kuppam River - Cruise starts from Pazhayangadi to Kuppam in Kuppam River with an effective Cruise length of 16 km.
Under the project the Ministry has sanctioned funds for development of basic infrastructure facilities like Passenger Terminals, Boat Terminals, Jetties, Boat Race Gallery, Restaurants, Food Courts, Performance Areas, Open Air atres, Angling Yards, Parking, Cycle tracks, Handicraft Kiosks, Bio Toilets, Wi-Fi facilities, Drinking Water Facilities, Floating Markets for local produce, Solar Lamps, Watch Towers, Solid Waste Management, CCTV, Signage etc. The cruises under the project will be operated under the PPP mode.
waterways have been an important mode of transport in Kerala from the time immemorial with its 44 Rivers and 7 Backwater regions. The total length of the navigation route in the Kerala is 1900 km. This is tune with the water based tourism which is getting prominence all over the world.
Ministry of Rural Development
Cabinet approves Implementation of the “National Rural Economic Transformation Project under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission 
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Implementation of an Externally Aided Project namely “National Rural Economic Transformation Project  under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission  through loan assistance  from World Bank.
Benefits:
The technical assistance provided by NRETP and the higher level interventions facilitated by the project will enhance the livelihoods promotion and access to finance and scale-up initiatives on digital finance and livelihood interventions.
Salient features:
DAY-NRLM lays special emphasis on targeting the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable communities and their financial inclusion. Innovative projects will be undertaken under NRETP to pilot alternate channels of financial inclusion, creating value chains around rural products, introduce innovative models in livelihoods promotion and access to finance and scale-up initiatives on digital finance and livelihoods interventions. DAY-NRLM provides for mutually beneficial working relationship and formal platforms for consultations between Panchayati Raj Institutions  and Community Based Organizations. NRLM has also developed activity map to facilitate convergence in different areas of interventions where NRLM institutions and PRIs could work together which has been disseminated to all state Rural Livelihood Missions.
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Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
NHAI holds road show for third phase of Toll-Operate-Transfer project
Nine streches of 566 kms to be monetised
(National Highways Authority of India organised a road show for the third phase of Toll-Operate-Transfer project for prospective bidders in New Delhi today. The TOT bundle 3 comprises of nine stretches traversing a total length of approx. 566 kms in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. This phase has initial mandated capital works approx. Rs 400 crore lower than Bundle 1 and Bundle 2 which will lead to significant savings for investors. Almost 43 per cent of bundle length is under annuity for almost 8-10 years which will lead to saving on at least one major maintenance cycle.
Stretch 1 and 2 connecting Jhansi to Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh on NH 25 and 26 has a total length of over 99 kms. Stretch 3 connecting Lucknow to Raibareli in Uttar Pradesh on NH 24B is 70 kms long. Stretch 4 connecting Kotwa to Muzaffarpur in Bihar on NH 28 has a length of 80 kms. Stretch 5 connecting Hazaribagh to Ranchi in Jharkhand on NH 33 is about 74 km long. Stretches 6,7, 8 and 9 connecting Madurai to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on NH is over 243 km long.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of NHAI Shri Narendra Nath Sinha said, the government has taken initiatives to increase the investment in highways sector since 2014. Transport sector has been allocated enhanced outlay of Rs 83,000 crore in the Union Budget for development of roads and highways in the country. The remaining funding requirements to meet ambitious plans are being managed through private sector investments.
Shri Sinha said, several more bundles will be offered in the months to come. He called upon the private investors to bid for these bundles, saying TOT is a risk-free model. He also invited investors to come up with more innovative investment models for the infrastructure sector. Exhorting investors for qualitative improvement, he called upon the concessionaires to concentrate upon improving road safety, quality of maintenance and improving toll collection methods so that waiting time at toll plazas is cut down drastically.
National Highway projects having approximately 6400 k.m. of length have been identified under Toll Operate Transfer Model. The first bundle of nine projects, totalling approximately 681 kms of roads in two states of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, was awarded in 2018. Huge interest was shown by foreign investors. TOT Bundle-I was awarded to Macquarie for Rs. 9,681 Crore, which was 1.5 times the Authority’s estimate. The second bundle of over 586 kms spread over four States – Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal and Bihar with 12 toll plazas across four highways was also offered last year. Bid for TOT Bundle-3 has been invited with due date of 11th September, 2019.
Shri Narendra Nath Sinha, Chairman NHAI addressing the gathering at the Road show for third phase of Toll-Operate-Transfer project for prospective bidders in New Delhi today.
Special Service and Features
Shri R. Ravichandran, IRS assumed charge as Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Tamilnadu and Puducherry
Shri R. Ravichandran, IRS, has taken over the charge of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Tamilnadu and Puducherry on 17th June, 2022. He is a 1987 batch IRS officer hailing from Kammapuram, Cuddalore Dist. He completed his Bachelor Degree in Agricultural College, Madurai and Master’s Degree in Agriculture from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.
He also holds a Master’s Degree in Shipping Management. Presently, he is pursuing Ph.d in Finance in the subject of Data Governance issues. He has worked in various capacities across the country in the fields of Assessment, Investigation, Administration and Training. His wife Smt. Geetha Ravichandran is also an officer of 1987 batch of IRS and is presently the Pr. Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai.
He has been on deputation with the Directorate General of Shipping as Deputy Director General of Shipping and with SEBI as Chief General Manager  He has handled various sensitive investigation cases including IPO scam and penny stock manipulation cases. He was instrumental in setting up of first Airport Intelligence Unit of the Income tax Department and Integrated Market Surveillance Systems project  of SEBI.
He has also been the ADG at NADT, Nagpur. He was part of the various committees constituted by the Ministry of Finance for framing legislation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Cross Border Taxation, Vision 2020, financial literacy amongst school going children and Results Framework Document of Income tax Department. He has published papers in Journals, presented papers in several international conferences and has been the Visiting faculty at various central training Institutes and management Institutes in India. He served as OECD faculty on the subject of International taxation, Transfer pricing and Treaty Issues in South Korea.
As the Chairman of the committee constituted by CBDT, a Digital Evidence Investigation Manual for Investigation for officers of Income Tax Department for the first time was prepared by him and released by CBDT in October,2014 and also Data Analysis Manual was prepared by him for the first time in 2016. As a part of all India Operation on Bitcoin exchanges he handled investigation on bitcoin exchanges and investors resulting in detection of huge amounts of undisclosed income. This release issued by Income Tax Officer  .